gramps
Americannoun
Usage
What does gramps mean? Gramps is an informal word for grandfather—the father of a person’s parent. It’s a variant of the word grandpa, which is commonly pronounced like grampa. Similar words for a grandmother are gran and granny. Gramps should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Gramps that I miss him. But gramps does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my gramps that I miss him. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your gramps, as long as you call him.
Etymology
Origin of gramps
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If Jenna Ortega’s devious dance to the Cramps in Netflix’s “Wednesday” felt like a cultural moment, social media solidified it.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025
Cramps can creep up on those who misjudge their pre-match routine.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2025
In later decades, Mr. Scott’s swaggering “The Way I Walk,” with its power chords and nonsensical scat refrain, became a rockabilly anthem through cover versions by Robert Gordon and the punk band The Cramps.
From Washington Post • Jan. 23, 2020
In the 1980s, a series of bootlegs called Songs the Cramps Taught Us, gathering originals of songs the Cramps covered, was my introduction to Williams, but info about him was scarce.
From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2019
Stomach Cramps Boy, who went swimming right after lunch.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
